Greece and Cyprus sign Memorandum of Cooperation on civil protection!

Cyprus and Greece signed on Thursday a Memorandum of Cooperation on issues on civil protection.

The Memorandum, singed by Minister of the Interior Socratis Hasikos and Greek Deputy Minister of the Interior Nicolaos Toskas, provides for the cooperation between the two countries on the tackling of natural disasters.

Both men praised the cooperation between the two countries both as regards the Cyprus problem as well as all other issues.

In his remarks, Hasikos recalled the cooperation between the two countries during the “difficult years” in the late nineties due to Turkey`s threats as the accession of Cyprus to the EU drew closer. Hasikos was then Minister of Defence while Toskas, was director of the Greek Defense Chief.

Turkey which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and occupies 37 per cent of its territory ever since, does recognize Cyprus and opposed the island`s entry to the EU.

“Thanks to the fact that we were united and by cooperating on all levels we were able to see Cyprus as an EU member-state,” he added, noting Cyprus and Greece are cooperating closely on the Cyprus problem.

Furthermore Hasikos praised the excellent level of cooperation between the two countries on tacking natural on the level of officials something manifested in the fires in Cyprus last summer.

In his statements Toskas also praised the level of cooperation between the two countries, noting that the agreement signed today reaffirms the existing cooperation.

He described the agreement as a formality as the current cooperation is very good, adding however there is room for better coordination between the two countries.

This is another step and a new beginning on the improvement of our cooperation and even closer cooperation on the tackling of natural disasters, he concluded.